UFC Launches Efforts in India; TV Deal In Place

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s focus over the past few years has been to take its brand across the globe. The latest expansion is India.

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta on Thursday announced that the UFC has partnered with Multi Screen Media (MSM) to air the promotion’s programming in India and the rest of the sub-continent. MSM’s sports channel, SIX, will carry live UFC events, taped special, and other bouts from the UFC library.

“When we went to India over a year ago I felt the market held enormous potential for the UFC,” said Fertitta. “India has a long history of martial arts and traditional wrestling like Kushti. Indian athletes have also demonstrated worldclass levels in combat sports as evidenced by the country’s 2008 Olympic medalists in wrestling and boxing.”

“I’ve been saying for a few years that India would be next and it was just a matter of finding the right partner in the market. MSM has been a pioneer in India, broadcasting new sports franchises like the IPL (a professional cricket league). We’ve got big plans for India and MSM couldn’t be a better partner,” said UFC president Dana White.

The UFC also launched its Indian Twitter account on Wednesday night. You can keep up with the promotion’s efforts in India by following @UFCIndia on Twitter.